The latest version of the World Cup of Hockey has meant the return of this competition 12 years after it was last played, with ESPN’s coverage of the games featuring NHL players, and USA coach John Tortorella’s outspoken approach to a number of issues on and off the ice. The World Cup of Hockey has also introduced a novel concept that could fundamentally change sports sponsorship. ESPN, which has exclusive rights to the two week tournament, has been using “fancy CGI” ads that cover up the logos of corporate partners on the dasher boards around the ice with their own logos of television partners during game broadcasts.

Computer-generated imagery (CGI) ads with partner logos are not new in sports, and especially when it comes to hockey. Several broadcasts have used CGI logos behind the glass of the nets and sometimes there are specific dasher boards that are left blank for CGI logos and/or dynamic signage that changes throughout the game. However, the idea of replacing the logos seen by fans in the arena with different logos seen by television viewers is a new activation.

The positive to these CGI logos is that they provide broadcast partners with new revenue streams. Media partners often feature the dasher boards prominently throughout their hockey broadcasts. Yet, the partners make little if any revenue from displaying these ads. In virtually no other advertising channel would displaying ads result in that little revenue for a broadcast partner. Being able to use CGI ads would enable media partners to monetize this television viewable signage while still enabling teams, leagues, and / or events to sell the dasher boards to advertisers to gain exposure to fans in the arenas.